Fishes of a Scale, School Together
by The Wandering Swordsman
Summary: AU. Short stories of three friends: a doctor, a chef, and a merman. Friendship LawxZoroxSanji.
1. A Special Surprise

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. **

Sanji paced up and down the hallway of his room as the ship rocked back and forth by the waves. The dark purple curtains swayed languidly as a gentle breeze entered though the open window and the blond shot a glance at it from time to time, hoping to see land. His nerves were going out of control since this morning when he had received a message. It was from an old friend of his who lived on a small island named Koral, also Sanji's home town. Sanji left the island two weeks ago to attend a business in the eastern side of the North Blue. He was just returning home on the Saint Merry with a smile like the bright sun when he heard the news, turning his mood upside down.

"Darn you, "Sanji growled under his breath, "Right when I turn my back on you...!" His pacing quickened as he screamed at the ship to hurry up.

The cruise ship docked the island around noon, two hours since he had started the long pace. He already had his suitcases near the door and he rushed out of his room as fast as a beast launching toward a prey. The ship was greeted by a cheerful crowd of families, friends, and sailors. Sanji stomped down the bridge that connected the ship and land, his hand running down the rail to support his wobbly body by the waves. Near the bottom of the bridge, he saw his friend who waved at the blond with a beaming smile. Sanji twisted his frown and couldn't decide whether he wanted to meet him with a big bear hug or give him a nice kick in the shin.

Sanji politely pushed past the suffocating crowd and was quickly reunited with his friend. Before he could finalize his decision, his friend beat him to it, and brought him in a huge bear hug.

"Welcome back Sanji!" his friend chuckled brightly in his ear.

The blond irked a smile, "Yes. I'm home. Thank you Law."

The man drew back and grinned, "How was the trip? Did the company like the idea?"

"Yes, yes they did." Sanji dropped his head down, shadowing his eyes, "Enough of that. Law," Sanji glowered, "W-what were you thinking?"

Law backed down a little but still had the beaming smile, "I have no clue as to what you're talking about." The man bent down and picked up Sanji's suitcases, "I'll take your bags." Sanji sputtered out incoherent words as Law snatched up his suitcases and started rolling them down the street like a skateboarder would do with his skateboard.

"Law! You get back here!" Sanji screamed as he ran after his friend. He caught up with Law even though the man was riding on the suitcases. Law was a lean, slender man just like Sanji so he was able to accomplish this task. Unlike Sanji's pale skin that easily burned under the summer sun, Law had dark brown skin so he looked much handsomer in the summer days. Since he didn't need to care much about his skin, he adorned many tattoos down his arms with symbols Sanji never seen before, and of course, Law never told him what they mean. Today he wasn't wearing his signature hat so his coarse black hair danced all over his eyes as the wind blew over them.

He stopped at the taxi station and raised an eye, "Your home, yes?"

"No." Sanji retorted quickly, "_Your_ home."

Law let out a sigh and rolled the suitcases again, "Okay okay." Law's home was only a few blocks from the dock so a taxi wasn't needed. Actually, if was cheaper if they walked for the precipitous hill and the road still made out of dirt and rocks. Despite the road, he had a very fine house, connected with a small hospital facility.

As they walked, the concrete road soon disappeared and the two had to hoist the suitcases off the ground as they trod up the muddy road.

"You know, we really should have left your bags at your home."

"I have some souvenirs for you, so no." Sanji dropped his shoulders, "Can you give me an explanation?"

"About what?" Law asked nonchalantly. When he saw the sudden kill in Sanji's eyes, he gave in, "Okay okay, god, you don't need to be that frustrated."

"Frustrated? A-All this time you were saving money to finally build a surgery room!"

"I changed my mind. This was much important."

Sanji slapped a hand on his face, "You used the money to save people for a _pool_?"

"Not just any pool. It has an automatic filtering system that checks the cleanness of the pool on every hour. Plus, there's an underwater tunnel that leads to a nice living space. Bed and all." Law pointed out.

"Who would go underwater just to take a nap? Are you insane?"

Law tipped his head up and chuckled, "You know me so well." Law had been known to start crazy ideas and perform them without asking anyone's permission or opinions. The first time it happened when Law decided to move out from the city of Koral and to a remote cliff side to build himself a home. That was also the year he decided to become a doctor, quitting his best and most favorite sport in the world: surfboarding. Law never attended any medical school but his skill was the greatest in the whole North Blue. Being unlicensed was a flaw though. Still patients sailed to Koral carrying heaps amount of cash in hopes to be cured. Sanji always teased Law on how he was too influenced by the famous unlicensed doctor in a comic book they both read when they were little. "Now Sanji, don't think I suddenly created a pool for my own entertainment. It's something much more."

"I hope so or else I'm really going to kick you."

Law just laughed.

By the time they reached the hill, the sun was touching the surface of the water. Sanji frowned disdainfully at the brand new building built on the other side of Law's home, opposite of the man's clinic. Law unlocked the door, and when he opened it, he was suddenly greeted by a large white dog, "Hey Bepo! Miss me huh?" Sanji petted the fluffy animal and when they took their eyes off it, the beast darted into the other rooms.

Law grinned, "Do you want to see the surprise?"

"Oh I sure do."

"Don't be such a sour head. You are going to drop your jaw, I bet you on that." Law abandoned the suitcases and pushed Sanji to the way Bepo went, which was the rumored pool.

The room had a thick glass door with yet another lock. The blond sweat dropped at the electronic keypad as Law punched in a code. The thought of the amount of cash Law had spent on making this was making Sanji blue in the face. Once the door slid open, the two stepped in with Bepo tailing right after. The room was spacious and their footsteps reverberated up the walls. They descended a few stairs to the three meter wide pool. The water was crystal clear and Sanji was able to see the bottom. Right next to the pool was a small compartment where Sanji could hear a low humming sound, which he assumed it was the 'Automatic Hourly Filtering Machine.'

Law pulled out his mixing stick and started to tap the surface of the pool. Every hit produced small ripples and it stretched and formed giant rings as it worked its way to the walls. Bepo stuck his head down until his nose barely kissed the water.

Sanji stared at the immense pool, "...why was this room locked with a high tech lock?"

"Because it has something very confidential." Law replied as he dried off the stick with his shirt, "You and I are the only two humans to see it."

"What's the 'it?'" Sanji started when he saw bubbles suddenly appearing on the pool. His only eye widened when a head broke through the surface of the pool. A patch of green hair emerged and a handsome face followed soon after. The boy looked young, around the ages between eighteen and twenty with dark green eyes blinking away the water over his eyelashes. His beautiful tanned skin glistened as the water spilled down his arms like golden scales. The boy stared at Sanji for a minute before it swam over to Bepo.

Law smirked at the sight of Sanji and grinned, "I told you so."

Sanji raised a shaking hand toward the green haired kid, "I-Is that..a merman?"

Law nodded, "From the rare Marimo clan too. That's why I'm keeping him in this pool because they're sensitive to dirtied water." He turned to the merman, "Zoro, come over here. I'll introduce you to him. Remember the friend I told you about?"

The merman stopped pulling the reluctant Bepo into the water and turned his attention to Law, and then to Sanji.

This was how Sanji met a merman.


	2. Test

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. **

"Zoro, this is Sanji. Sanji this is Zoro." The merman stared at the cook and then gave a formal bow. Sanji seemed to finally jerk out of his reverie and returned a clumsy bow. Law rose onto his feet and clasped his hands together, "Alrighty! Now's the introduction is done," he turned to Sanji, "Did you get the tea that I asked?"

"The Castéiena Tea? A whole dozen of them." Sanji replied a second later.

"Yes! Thanks Sanji! I'll go heat up the kettle." Law squatted back down to face Zoro, "Do you want some? It's really good! I'll sure to heat up purified water." The merman pondered in thought and then returned a nod, "Okay, I'll go and get _it_." Sanji watched as Law entered the Filtering Room. The doctor returned within seconds with something clutched in his hand. Upon seeing Law approach the pool, Zoro had swam to the edge, leaning his weight onto it. Law knelt down again and brought the tiny object close to Zoro's face.

Sanji leaned in to see what the object was, "An...earring?" He saw that Zoro already had one on his left earlobe. There were two vacant holes in which Law snapped the golden earring on. Then, using both arms, Law pulled Zoro out of the water.

The cook fell on his bottom when the sudden transformation from fish tail to legs formed from his very eyes. Law quickly covered the merman's lower half with a blanket to cover his private parts. The doctor cupped his arms under Zoro's body and carried him in his chest. Law's smile beamed once again at the sight of Sanji; he saw many emotions from the cook today.

"W-what is that? How did he-?"

"It's a special earring the mermans wear. Every earring has a specific power; the one I just put on him gives him the ability to grow legs and walk, just like us humans." Law suddenly lowered his voice, "He told me he used to have three," He pointed to one empty hole. The doctor's voice rose in a happier tone, "Let's drink tea, shall we?"

Law put the kettle on the stove while Sanji unlocked his suitcase. The doctor left Zoro on the floor so the merman could get used to his legs. Zoro crawled over to Sanji to see what the cook was doing. Sanji blushed at the sudden attentive stare and pulled up a smile. Zoro blinked and dropped his eyes to the opened suitcase.

Sanji turned to Law, "Can he talk?"

"Yeah, he can. He's probably examining you."

Sanji did a double take, "What?"

Law pointed his eye to Zoro, "I guess he could see the water in our body. If you're clean, he'll accept you as a friend."

"-and if I'm not?"

"Then...brace yourself." Law raised an eye slowly, "You could get killed." Sanji gulped and cautiously lowered his eye over to the merman, who was looking straight at him. His blood suddenly ran cold as the merman's deep green eyes bore into his skin. He suddenly felt like a frog who was paralyzed under the eyes of a predatory snake. Then those intense green eyes suddenly turned round like a young child's, and the merman crawled around the perimeter of the suitcase. A rush of relief flowed down Sanji. He felt like he escaped death. Law peered down, scaring Sanji out of his skin.

"I guess you passed." Law lowered the cup of tea in front of Sanji, "Here's yours."

Zoro lifted his head to smell the rich scent of Castéiena and wobbled over to the dining table, using the chair as support. Receiving his own share of the tea, the merman returned to the suitcase and sipped the hot liquid slowly.

"He could eat and drink human stuff?"

"Yeah," Law crossed his arms and smiled impressively, "He could even eat cup ramen."

"So," Sanji asked while his hands busied removing Law's souvenirs out, "Where did you find Zoro?"

"Ah, Castéiena is the best." Law mused as he sipped his own tea. He sat dreamily at the surface of his tea for a minute before turning to Sanji, "Excuse me, what did you say?"

"Where did you find Zoro?"

"Oh! Yeah, let me get something." Law excused himself with the cup of tea and left to his clinic. Zoro picked up a bundle of clothes from the corner of Sanji's suitcase and stared at the fabric carefully. Law returned with a three ringed binder, "I recorded his data in this. It's starts on page twenty-four."

Sanji flipped open the first page, read the first sentence, and stared up at the doctor, "This is your diary."

"It's an _observation journal_." Law corrected. Sanji rolled his eyes and decided not to press on about it anymore, began reading the Observation Journal.


	3. How Law met Zoro

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. **

The two friends rolled two large suitcases to the dock. It was early morning and a concourse of people lined up behind a long wooden bridge that connected to the grand ship, Saint Merry. Sanji stopped on his tracks and put out a hand, "Thanks for pulling my suitcases all the way here."

"No problem." Law grinned as he handed Sanji's suitcase.

Sanji suddenly glowered, "Law, while I'm gone, don't think of starting something stupid."

Law sighed, "Again with the warning? Sanji, I'm not a kid anymore." They slapped their hands on their ears when the ship let out a roar, "I guess that's the ship telling you to go."

Sanji nodded but raised a hand, "Remember Law, don't think of suddenly wanting to become a king of pirates or sailing across the sea on a huge ship! You're a doctor okay! There's people who need saving! If you want to swim, just surfboard!"

"Okay, okay." Law pushed Sanji into the crowd of people, "Have fun and don't forget to buy me the tea I told you about."

"I won't." Sanji returned a smile and they both exchanged their last greeting before the cook vanished into the crowd. The grand ship left the island an hour later and all of the spectators waved their hands around until the ship was out of sight. Law stuffed his hands in his pockets to rest his tired hands from all the waving and walked home.

He unlocked the clinic door and stepped in, and sat at his rolling chair. Upon remembering Sanji's warning, it brought Law a good idea.

"Hm, I haven't really surfed in a while." He suddenly stood up in his seat, "That'll be a great stress reliever." He rushed to the door that led to his other house with vital needs and entered his bedroom. He had hung his beloved surfboard against the wall along with his trophy collection. It was secure by two strong hooks, so with a little tug, a yellow and black striped surfboard popped out and landed near Law's feet. Grinning from ear to ear, the doctor whistled for Bepo and rushed back outside, turning the card on the door from 'open' to 'closed.' If there was somebody from a far, distant island who called him for a serious and fatal disease, well that sucked for them, doctors needed breaks too.

Law and Bepo descended the hill and turned toward the lower side of the cliff. His home was near a cove so that Law could spend some private surfboarding time without unwanted beach wanderers. Bepo hung around the cove to catch some tiny crabs; the animal wasn't really fond of water. Law dove into the sea with his surfboard and when he swam four to five meters off land, he sat and scanned the waves.

The doctor shielded his eyes when he noticed that the sky was white from so many clouds. The weather wasn't fairly good but he surfed in worse conditions. "I feel a good wave coming." Law cracked his knuckles as he waited for the wave with excitement. The ocean suddenly stilled and the doctor saw in the horizon, a mound which launched a large wave within seconds. Law grinned and squatted lower on his board, anticipating the monster wave. The wave was soon at his heels and it picked him and his surfboard up as if he was merely a fly. Law, now on his feet, balanced his body and once it was stable, he was all in control. He titled his board and he sailed across the roaring waves with ease. He wasn't called the King Surfer of Koral for nothing. Law ran his hand through the wall of water, letting the cold sea water trail down his arms. He missed this and he realized he should add 'surfing' as a weekend hobby again. Sensing that this wave's life was coming to an end, Law swiftly sailed out of the wall and turned his back when the wave collapsed, joining the sea.

Like a baby phoenix appearing out of its ashes, another wave just as powerful formed and Law rode it just the same. Wave after wave, the ocean played along with the master of surfboarding, welcoming his return to the sea. He surfed for nearly two hours and finally decided to quit when the last wave carried him all the way back to the shore. Law pulled his salty hair out of his face and eyes and looked around the sandy beach. Bepo was nowhere to be seen.

"Bepo?" Law dragged his surfboard to a place where the waves couldn't reach and called out his pet's name, "Bepo, where are you?" He knew his dog was afraid of water and would barely touch it with its paw. He also knew that no matter how inclement the ocean weather, Bepo would always be near. He looked down and saw faint paw prints on the damp sand. He followed it with his eyes first and it led to the deeper end of the cove, hidden from his view. Rolling his eyes, thinking that maybe Bepo strayed off the beach a little too far-again, he trudged over the paw prints.

The hidden side of the cove was covered in boulders so he had trouble climbing over them. His foot landed in shallow puddles that formed between the sand and rocks when the waves crashed over them. Law growled under his breath and trod on. Finally, after crossing over a humongous rock that was taller than him, he caught a sight of something big, white and fluffy. The boulders were clear and a scenery of an untouched peaceful cave folded before him.

Law was surprised to see that Bepo had his whole four legs in the water. The dog was staring down intently at something and he finally lifted his head at the sight of his owner.

"What are you doing, you dumb dog?" Law ran a hand through Bepo's head as he peered down to see also. He froze at the object that was grasping onto the rocks as if it were a life string. Law was struck with consternation when he saw the magnificent green tail glistening down the man's body where legs were supposed to be. His eyes flew open in shock when he recognized what species the merman was by the color of the man's hair. He had noticed that the merman was panting very quickly and looked extremely ill, so with doctor's instincts kicking in, he reached out to help it.

All of a sudden, water in a shape of a dagger was right on Law's neck. The merman's eyes were fixed on his, glaring at him with sheer menace. Law had never seen such eyes and he stilled, steadying himself.

Law let out a ragged breath and whispered in a hoarse voice, "Drop the sword. I'm going to help you." The merman narrowed his glare and pressed the dagger deeper into his neck. Suddenly, the dagger melted and splashed all over Law's neck and wet shirt. The merman's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he collapsed back into the ocean, creating a huge splash that sent Bepo running. Law scrambled to pick up the merman and hastily checked his pulse. It was too quick, even if it was a merman (he assumed that mermen had the same heart rate for they were called 'half human').

"He's dehydrated." Law pressed his fingers tight against the merman's wrist, "He must've drunk too much salt water." He then pried open the other's mouth and slipped his fingers in. He tensed when he felt a tiny object lodged between the merman's side cheek and teeth. He pulled it out and examined it close to his face, "What's this?" He glanced back at the merman and shaking his head, he stuffed the item into his pant pocket. He pulled the boy into his arms and rushed up to his home. Bepo dashed after his master, dragging the surfboard by the string.

Keeping the sign still 'closed,' Law carried the merman into his bathroom. He turned on the cold faucet on full and slipped the man into the tub. While the tub was slowly filling up with water, he flew into his kitchen to grab a few water bottles. Once he returned, he unscrewed one of the bottles and tapped the merman's cheeks lightly, waking him up. Slowly, the merman's eyes opened but it wasn't filled with kill anymore. Upon seeing water, the man diffidently parted his lips and let the fresh, clean water slide down his throat. Law had his arm behind the merman's neck to prevent him from choking.

But a merman choking on water?

He wanted to laugh, but actually seeing a dehydrated merman prevented him to.

The merman swallowed two whole bottles before he placed a hand in front of Law signaling him to stop.

"T-thank you." The merman uttered. It was quite a handsome voice.

Law set down the bottles near his feet. He placed his arms over the tub edge, dangling his fingers in the water. "Do you feel better? Since you've been dehydrated for a long time, your headache must be horrible. Do you feel delirious? Do you still see any weird illusions?" The man shook his head on all of the questions except for the headache. He placed a hand over his forehead indicating the pain.

The merman's eyes snapped toward the doctor. His hand flew over his mouth and was staring back at him in horror.

"What happened?"

"My earring." The merman lowered his hand slowly, "I-I had it in my mouth just a second ago."

"Oh, this?" Law pulled out the golden object from his pocket. Relief suddenly spread across the merman's features.

"Thanks." He took the earring in his hands and examined it carefully.

"No problem." Law frowned when the merman popped it right back into his mouth. "Aren't you supposed to add earrings on your ears?"

"I don't need it as of now. The ones I need are-" The merman brushed a hand through his ear and stopped dead when he only felt one earring. His face suddenly drained out of color. His finger ran over one, running over the fine details of the earring, "...I lost the most important one..." he threw his face in his hands and cursed, "Now how can I-" Lament filled the beautiful features of the merman and Law felt disheartened. He realized what the missing earring was and he felt sorry for the man.

He pulled up a smile though, "Don't give up. I can help you find it."

"You?"

"Yes, me. In the meantime, you can stay here."

The merman stared down at the floor of the tub and then lifted his eyes back onto Law, "That will be a great help," the man titled his head to the side, "...Trafalgar Law."

Law couldn't hide his surprise, "How did you know?"

"I could read your history by just reading the water in your body, as well as everything." Law suddenly felt like his privacy had been violated. The merman placed a hand on his chest and bent down, "Pleased to meet you Trafalgar. I am Roronoa Zoro of the Allejà Blêue."

"...so what am I supposed to call you?"

"Zoro."

Law chuckled, "Alright, and you just call me Law, okay?" Zoro nodded and when everything seemed to calm down, sleep took over the merman. His eyes drooped down and he quickly elapsed into sleep. Law collected the empty and new water bottles and left the bathroom. He closed it slowly and then walked over to the living room to retrieve his phone. Relieved to see no messages, he dialed a number and waited for the caller.

"Good evening," Law spoke in a former accent, "May I speak to Mr. Cutty Flam? ... Ah, good evening Mr. Flam. How is Mr. Tom? Yes, the stitches will irritate for a few days, but tell him to bear it." Law lowered his voice, "Say, I heard that you could build anything in a short amount of time...may I ask a request?"

Sanji closed the observation journal and looked up at Law. "So that's how you got the pool."

"After reading all that, you only ask me about that?"

"Well it's just-" Sanji sighed, "It's hard for me to understand that there's a merman right in front of us. It's a legend!"

"But he's right here!"

"I know! I know that but it's just overwhelming."

"You'll get used to it."

Sanji turned to Zoro and the merman smiled, returning to his tea. Sanji clasped his hands around his cup and nodded. Law and Sanji had created millions of childhood dreams. More than half of them were erased for it was impossible, but they kept even the weirdest ones close to their hearts. One of them was to meet the legendary creature: half human and half fish. Now that impossible dream came true, what next?

Befriend the merman?

They really didn't have that as their list of dreams, but they could still add on.


	4. Earring

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. **

"Tell me more about the earring."

"Ah," Law turned to Zoro, "Well, ask him. He knows more about it."

Upon feeling of eyes lingering on him, the merman lifted his head from the cup of tea. His eyes widened slightly as if to silently ask Sanji what the matter was.

Sanji cleared his throat, "What earring did you lose?"

Zoro touched the two earrings on his earlobes, "These two are not as important as the one I lost."

"What was it?"

"It's the Filtering Earring."

"Filter?"

"Yeah. I am a merman, species Marimo, so I can only swim in clean water. The earring I lost filtered the water around me so that I could swim anywhere I wanted. The ocean, of course, I was born there, so I needed it constantly." He pointed to the other two earrings, "These aren't really needed but it was a parting gift I received from my family."

"Where did you lose it?"

Zoro curled up his lip and tried his best to recall the incident, "I was swimming and a huge wave suddenly took me and I lost control. I probably lost it there. Two or three kilometers from this island, I think."Zoro stopped to drink the rest of his tea.

Sanji looked askance to Law, "So all we have to do is find the earring and he'll be able to swim in the ocean again."

"That's easier said than done." Law frowned, "Did you see how small that earring is compared to the sea?"

"T-that's true..."

Zoro chuckled lightly, "It's okay. I'm not really worried about it." He clasped his hands around his mug, "I actually like it here."

"Are you sure? Are you just telling us this so we won't feel bad?" Zoro smiled but didn't say a word. Law and Sanji sighed.

Sanji glanced up to the clock and saw that it was already past four. "Ah, I better get going." He stood up to place his mug into the sink, "I'll see you guys tomorrow and I'll sure to make something that's better than cup ramen." Law beamed back a smile and helped Sanji close his suitcases. After exchanging farewells, Sanji dragged his luggage down the steep hill.

The cook was pulling his suitcase down the street when he passed by a jewelry store. He stopped and stared at the display window.

_Hm, maybe they found Zoro's earring? It's worth a try. _Sanji stepped his foot into the store. An owner of the store greeted him with a gentle smile. The old man was shorter than Sanji by a few feet. The hair on top of his head was barely there with dark blotches of age moles dotted over his smooth skin. His small, round glasses perched on his bony nose as he peered up into Sanji's clear blue eyes.

"Oh Sanji! When did you return?"

"Just this morning sir. How are you?" Sanji grinned. The island, Koral, was small so practically everyone knew and treated each other like family. Especially Sanji, who attracted a lot of attention for his handsome style and generosity, considered everyone a friend.

"I'm fine, thank you." The old man's eyes suddenly sparkled, "Are you here to buy an engagement ring?"

Sanji laughed, "No, not yet. Hey, I was wondering, did someone sell you a small golden earring? It's this small and it's shaped like a teardrop."

"An earring? No, no one has sold me anything over the past week."

Sanji dropped his shoulders. Life wasn't this easy. He glanced over to the counter tops where all of the glittering and expensive jewelry were placed. He stared at the accessories and a thought suddenly popped in his head. He quickly snapped one of his suitcases open and rummaged through. The old man observed the sudden behavior with a quiet air. The cook stood up again with a slender yellow envelope in hand.

Sanji ripped the top and leafed out a few hundred Belis. "Can you make something for me?"

-.-.-

The following day, the sky was clear blue and clouds drifted slowly in the gentle, cool wind. Sanji woke up an hour earlier than usual and was able to finish his daily necessaries within that wonderful time span. He usually woke up early to buy some fresh fish from the pier (it was cheaper than buying it at a local market), but today he was two hours earlier. He grabbed a long coat and stuffed a small paper bag in one of its big pockets and headed toward his friend's home.

Law was still asleep when there was a loud banging at the door. The doctor had low blood pressure, so it took grueling mental strength for him to get out of bed. He was in a terrible mood during this time, so he did not smile at the sight of Sanji.

"What?" Law snapped.

"Sorry to wake you up-"

"You should." A few seconds passed and Law's torpid eyes twinkled subtly, "You're forgiven."

"Thanks. Anyways, can I see Zoro? I'll promise it'll only take a few minutes." Law stared apathetically at Sanji and the cook waited patiently for the doctor's mind to process the request. The doctor rubbed his eyes and then nodded languidly. Yawning with his mouth open wide, Law trudged with heavy steps into the special room.

Law punched a few buttons on the keypad and the door slid open, just like yesterday. This time he didn't have the mixing stick to tap the water's surface so he used his hand. He dunked his hand in the water and it created quite a splash. Sanji moved out of the way just in time, but Law, who was still tired, got his face splashed with cold water. It didn't take long for the merman to pop his head out of the water.

"Hello." He blinked up to Law and Sanji.

"Hey Zoro. I got something for you." The cook stuck his hand in his coat pocket and pulled out the tiny paper bag. Inside the bag, Sanji took out a tiny golden object in a shape of a tear drop.

Zoro's eyes widened, "Is that my earring?"

Sanji let out a low chuckle, "It looks like it doesn't it? But it's not, I'm sorry." Zoro pulled down a slight frown, "We're going to look for you earring, we promise. In the meantime though, you could wear this." Sanji brought the earring to Zoro's eyes level. The merman scrutinized it carefully before receiving the gift.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." He watched when Zoro placed the new earring next to his other earrings. Comparing it with the other two, the one he gave him shone dull, "Wow, did you polish your earrings?"

"No." Law interrupted, speaking for the first time today in the secret room, "Merman's jewelry is different from ours. Remember the book we read when we were kids? The legendary book of something?"

"Y-yeah, the myth that gold mermen have is sixty-four karat...So that means that his is sixty-four karat gold?" His eye boggled out at seeing the most valuable gold in the whole world on Zoro's ear. The one he gave him was twenty-four karat and it was nothing compared to it.

"Yup." Law stood up and glared at Sanji. The shadow under the doctor's eyes looked thicker, "Can I sleep now?" His attitude was dark and moody in the morning and Sanji had known that for years.

Sanji rolled his eyes, "Fine fine I'll go, so you can get your beauty sleep." He turned to Zoro. He smiled and waved, "Bye Zoro. I'll come back when I get out of break."

Zoro grinned. "Okay." He watched when his friends left and the door closed with a loud mechanical hiss. The merman ran a hand through his earlobe. The earrings clashed against one another and it jingled. There was a distinct sound difference between the sixty-four and the twenty-four karat. Zoro liked it. He smiled and flipped around so he could dive underwater to go back to sleep.


	5. New Nurse in Town

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.**

A week had passed since a merman arrived on the shoreline near Law's home.

Just two days ago, when Sanji was getting used to Zoro, he ordered Law to keep one important promise.

"Don't bring Zoro out in public."

"Aw, why?" Law booed and quickly rejected the idea, "That's stupid!"

"Stupid? You're stupid!" Sanji pointed to the pool where Zoro was currently taking a nap, "Everyone will suspect something if they see his hair!"

"Oh please Sanji! Everyone dyes their hair these days. They won't know!"

"I have never seen a green colored dye that shines like real hair. Law! Just promise me on this one! We can't risk bringing him out! 'Legend Collectors' might be around!" Legend Collectors were people who collect rare items: from inanimate to living beings. Law and Sanji used to be Legend Collectors, or were trying to be, before they were struck down by reality. In order to become one they needed to be rich.

Law seemed to have lost this battle and he fell into silence. He sighed-and looking mighty disappointed-nodded, "I guess you're right. A merman is definitely a creature a Legend Collector will covet over."

Sanji brought out a hand, "Promise?"

Law reluctantly shook hands, "Promise."

Two days later, Sanji was working at his restaurant. It located on the northeastern side of the island where most of the stores were. Quite a few customers gathered around in booths, eating breakfast and talking amongst themselves. The door chimed and Sanji greeted the incoming guests with a handsome smile.

"Welcome my wonderful princesses."

"Oh Sanji, you silly! We're too old for flatter!" A group of middle aged women, probably ages between thirty or forty, gathered around in a cluster, "What's the special today, Sanji dear?"

"Fried Sea King, but for you my ladies, I am going to add a side dish and dessert. How does that sound?"

"Wonderful Sanji! We'll all take that." The ladies giggled as they walked down the aisle to find a place to sit. Sanji rolled up his sleeves, and memorizing the amount of dishes he needed to prepare, he deftly brought out a dozen frying pans to sear the fishes.

Minutes later, Sanji appeared at their table with an array of beautifully decorated food. Each and every woman had a different side dish and dessert. They all took a bite and they exploded in compliments.

"This is delicious Sanji!"

"You've done it again dear!"

"Thank you for your kind words." Sanji bowed and was about to leave when one of the ladies tugged at his apron, "Yes? Do you need a napkin or perhaps a fork?"

"No no. I was going to ask about your friend, Doctor Trafalgar."

Sanji raised an eye, "Yes, what about him?" Suddenly, all of the ladies exchanged telepathic glances and they giggled and squealed like young girls. He knew that Law had quite a few fans and followers on the island for his looks and chivalrous mannerisms (Sanji too), but how the ladies were grinning made Sanji curious.

"Have you heard about the new nurse?"

"N-nurse?" Sanji furrowed his eyebrow.

"Oh you haven't heard?"

"N-no." This news was new. Law never told him about hiring a nurse. The word suddenly brought a perverted smile on the cook's face. He tried to keep his comely looks on, "Who is she like?"

"Oh, the nurse isn't a 'she.'"

"What?"

"No, but the nurse is _very_ gorgeous."

"Oh my! He is!"

One of the women fanned herself, "I think my blood pressure's going to rise for having such a beautiful people checking me."

"They're so delicious that I would want to eat them up!"

"My! Get your mind out of there!" The ladies laughed happily and blushing, feeling young and cute again. Sanji, on the other hand, had excused himself out of the talking bubble. He returned to the kitchen where he continued cooking. The dishes were perfect like always and the customers who ate the food loved it. The only difference was that there was a scowl on Sanji's face that he could not erase. He was going to kick Law hard.

-.-.-

When the clock struck one and it was temporarily closing time for Sanji's restaurant, the cook bolted to the hospital. The distance between his store and Law's took only fifteen minutes on car, but on foot it took Sanji nearly an hour. He was able to run a little bit faster since he was in a monstrous mood. Gazing up at the hospital, he could see that Law was busy with patients.

He slammed open the door and politely pushed through the crowd who were waiting for their morning checkup. When he was about to step up into the doctor's office, a figure stood in his way.

"Wait for your turn...Hey Sanji." Sanji raised his head, and dropped his jaw. Zoro greeted him with a kind smile. He wore one of Law's work outfits and a black bandana was tied on the merman's head, hiding his green hair. His earrings chimed when he leaned toward Sanji', "What happened to your restaurant?" Zoro pronounced restaurant wrong since he didn't fully understand what it meant.

"It's break time." Sanji stepped up and gently pushed Zoro and peered toward the door, "Can I see Law?"

"He's really busy but I could ask."Zoro slipped into the doctor's office while Sanji waited at the doorway. In the background he heard many conversations regarding the new nurse. The cook scowled. Zoro returned promptly with a shrug, "He says he doesn't have time. Maybe later."

"No Zoro. I need to talk to him!" Sanji's patience had thinned to nothing and he stomped into Law's office. Law was sitting in his chair examining a young patient's pulse. The patient seemed to be in a daze as the young doctor scribbled something down on a clipboard. When the doctor's eyes met with Sanji's furiously blazing ones, he pulled up a weak smile.

"Here you go miss. Hope you have a nice day." Law dropped a tiny bottle of vitamins into the lady's hand. She sighed contently and fluttered out of the office. He raised an eye at the cook, "Hello Sanji."

Sanji closed the door behind him. The only people in the room were Law, Sanji, and Zoro. There were distant chatters from outside the office door, easing the tense atmosphere. The merman stood by with his back against the door as he glanced to and fro at his fellow friends.

The cook let out an exasperated sigh, "Law, did you break our promise?"

"I kind of, but look!" Law guided his hand toward Zoro, "I gave him a bandana to cover his head! It covers all of his hair! Now he looks just like everyone else."

Sanji hissed, "Do you know how dangerous it is to bring a merman in public?"

"Hey hey! Look at him! He has legs right now! No one will suspect him as one. And besides-" Law paused.

"Besides what?"

"Zoro said he wants to be in the human world." Sanji froze on those words. True, if they were to hide him from society, he would be trapped in the secret room, and that was no fun. That was just as worse as being confined in a cell to be displayed in front of an audience.

The indignant feeling Sanji had coiled up in his gut had unraveled and he nodded, agreeing with Law. "If Zoro says so, then I won't say anything." Zoro's spirits were lifted upon hearing Sanji's declaration and he gave the cook a big bear hug. Sanji's eye flew open in surprise, and he returned the embrace.

Sanji pulled back and his face was stern, "But Zoro, be careful. There are people like us who you accept, but there are also people who you don't want to be near. I hope your 'water reading abilities' could decipher that."

"I can, and there're a lot of _clean_ people here." Zoro looked over his shoulder indicating the people who were waiting for their turn.

Forgetting (kind of) that there were patients that still needed to be checked, Law clapped his hands, "Okay, talk time is over. Zoro, bring in the next guest. Sanji, are you going to come back here to make dinner like you promised?"

Sanji nodded, "Of course and it's going to be a feast, to congratulate the new nurse in town."

Law made a fist, "Yes!"


	6. A Dream that Could Become a Reality

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. **

Sanji assumed that the merman was familiar to fish and seaweed, so he prepared a dinner mainly with fish ingredients. Fishes, clams, kelp, all harvested fresh from the nearby sea were used. He hoped that Zoro would accustom to the cooked dishes.

Law, who was human, dove into the food with vigor and ate just like any hungry being. Zoro, on the other hand, didn't understand how to use a fork or knife yet so Sanji taught him that first. When the merman was able to raise a morsel of fried fish with a trembling fork, he ate in the same manner as Law. It seemed that the merman was not disgusted by the fish, warm and long been dead.

A smile danced on Zoro's face and his eyes sparkled as he marveled the art called 'cooking.' This must be some form of magic because he could not taste or see the blood or organs a live fish usually had. And the flavor; it was something he could not describe. This was nothing compared to the 'Ramen in a Cup' that Law offered on the first night. "Wow! This is really good!"

Sanji grinned, "I'm glad you like it." His spirits rose at how his food was loved by a mystical creature.

"I told you his food is good. On our break, we could visit his restaurant."

"What? That's what a restaurant is?"

"Yeah."

Zoro pointed to a dish with seared salmon and a creamy white sauce poured on it, "So when I go to your 'restaurant,' I can eat this?"

"Yup."

"Wow!" Zoro awed and he returned to eating. He raised a knife over his head and slammed it violently into the meat of the fish, the horrible scratch of the knife scratching against the plate stung Law and Sanji's ears.

"B-be gentle Zoro. The fish isn't going to run away." Sanji winced when Zoro did it again.

The cook sat down to eat his own fill when Law suddenly brought up a topic. "Hey Sanji," Law started, "did you hear about the agreement Zoro and I did?"

"Agreement? No."

Law cast a glance over at the merman and he leaned in, "I am going to create the Elixir of Life." The doctor waited until Sanji finished choking. "I'm not joking."

"How?"

"With Zoro, of course! You know the mermaid meat myth? How, eating the meat of a mermaid will give eternal life? Well, the day when I found Zoro, he was covered in cuts from the Great Coral Bed. Just within that day, all of his wounds were healed! So, I'm thinking-"

"You're going to eat him?" When Sanji answered, Zoro raised his head and made a really weird face.

"No idiot. I'm going to borrow some of his blood, and with that blood sample I'm going to experiment on making the elixir." Law beamed, "If I could create it, then all of the fatal diseases will be cured."

"Wait, if you make this elixir, are people going to live forever?"

"No Sanji, I'm using the _blood_ of a merman, not the _meat_. Blood can't give us eternal life." Law's fist shook with excitement, "I can't wait!"

Sanji folded his arms across his chest, "That is a good idea..." A medicine that gave humans eternal life would be a catastrophe; everyone would discover the existence of mermaids. If it was a medicine that would cure from the smallest cut to the incurable illness, then Law would really be the greatest doctor in the world. "I'll cheer you on Law."

Law nodded, "Thanks because I was going to ask if you want to be the first to test this."

Sanji paused and his smile disappeared, "What?"

The doctor clasped his hands together, "Please Sanji! I promise I won't add an ingredient that'll poison you!"

"Y-You better not!"


	7. A Dream that Would Never Come True

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. **

An old film started to roll and it snapped and clicked as the images appeared on the screen.

It revealed an old bar with a man sitting on a stool. He leaned against the counter as he sipped a cup of brandy. The man had dark wavy hair that shaded his beautiful amber eyes. A dash of freckles splashed over his cheeks, giving his complexion a youthful look. He dipped his head down and swirled his glass a little, gazing down at the small waves.

A lady sauntered over to his side and took a seat next to him. She was extremely gorgeous and all of the men in the bar had their eyes on her. Her dress was a simple red with a low cut, and displayed her plump breasts. She pushed away her golden locks off her shoulders and she dreamily looked into the man's eyes.

"You are new around here, aren't you?"

The man tipped his orange hat and grinned at her, "Yeah, kind of."

She slipped her arms around the man's arms, "What's your name?"

"Ace." The man replied simply.

The lady pressed on, wanting to know more about the stranger "What are you?" She licked her lips slowly, tempting him. She took her eyes off him to glance at the man's attire: a worn down cow boy jacket and jeans and a dark green backpack resting peacefully on his back. On his belt he had a holster with a shining glint from the handle of a pistol. She returned her blue eyes to him, waiting for his answer. "Are you some kind of ranger?"

The man took a swig and drank the remaining alcohol and set it back down. He raised an eye at the woman, "I'm a collector."

The woman pulled up a seductive smile, "Oh...And what kind of things do you collect?"

The man leaned in closer to her. His smile broadened and his freckles seemed to dance with his mood, "Legends."

"So cool!" Law and Sanji screamed out loud, shaking their fists in awe. They were soon silenced by the harsh hush from people who were sitting close to them.

The two friends first saw the movie, "Legend Seeker" when they were still six years old. The movie became an instant hit all around the world, even on the remote island of Koral. Although the town's movie theater was old and torn from age, villagers hustled in and out from it while the movie aired.

The movie was based on real Legend Collectors, but it added an adventuring spirit that all children and adults dreamed: a gallant, courageous, and handsome man who traveled all around the world in search of collecting the myths and legends; and women, on each and every island he landed, fell in love with him. Children of the island went to school with backpacks with the main character on it. Law and Sanji were not an excluded; they were rather absorbed fully in the adoration to become a Legend Seeker.

They bought a Legend Seeker kit which included the outfit the main character wore. Law and Sanji ran about in the island with other village friends pretending to be wandering around the jungles of the South Blue and finding sparkling diamonds. They also bought every single one of the "Legend Seeker" series and watched it until the video tape broke.

Their dream abated when they found out what Legend Collectors really did. True Legend Collectors rarely traveled, and if they did it was mainly on expensive private planes. They spent cash as if it were a piece of worthless paper to get what they wanted. The reality Legend Collectors' hearts were stained in greed and they weren't as attractive and godly as how the movie portrayed. This broke Little Law and Sanji's hearts severely.

Although their dreams to become a Legend Collector ebbed away, it did not disappear completely. One day, when the two friends were about eleven years of age, Sanji brought to Law's home a large leather bound book.

"Look!" Sanji pointed to the cover, "The Legendary Book of Legends, Myths, and Other Tales!" his eyes gleamed, "It has tons of stories about magical creatures and treasure!" This revived their interest and the two perused the book with great intensity. This was where they read the history and tales about mermen and mermaids.

Sanji lifted his head out from the book and frowned, "Do you think this book is lying too?"

"Idiot!" Law slapped his comrade, "How could someone write something like this real if it didn't exist? This book is telling the truth! Ogres, fairies, mermaids, the lost land of Atlantis-it all exists!"

Sanji let out a huff, "I hope so because I want to keep some of my dreams." Suddenly, the boy's expression saddened, "The book didn't have my most important dream..."

Law stared at his best friend with equal sadness.

Over the years, Law and Sanji were forced to abandon more than a handful of wishes and goals they wanted to do when they were older, since they realized, it was never going to come true. Law just hoped that the one dream Sanji had been wishing for all his life was not going to be thrown away just like the others.


	8. A Dream that Could Not Be Forsaken

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.**

Zoro and Law were clearing up an abandoned room the doctor had in his small home. It was spacious with a closet on one side of the wall and a large window on the opposite. Since Law already had another room to claim his bedroom, wider than this one, so he had abandoned it and only threw some random boxes of needless stuff and thus became a closet room. He wasn't planning on using this room, but since the plans of creating a new surgery room was delayed for another year or so, this was the only room he had.

Their first job was to carry out all of the cardboard boxes and miscellaneous junk out of the house and hopefully reduce the amount by selling them at the morning market. The merman lifted up an old box when the bottom of it ripped and all of the contents fell out. The box was light enough to raise it above Zoro's head, and he did so that he could see what he had dropped. He stared at the unfamiliar objects for the longest time before calling out to Law.

"Law! I dropped something!"

"What'd you drop?"

"I don't know!" Zoro replied as he continued to stare at the unknown thing. Law left his job and sauntered over, raising his leg high up to step over the piled up boxes.

"Let's see...oh!" Law's eyes suddenly gleamed like a child's, "Wow! I've never seen these in such a long time!" The doctor quickly gathered up the items and held them close to his chest. One of them was a small rectangular shaped box (Zoro assumed it was a box) with one side open. An object slid down, revealing another box but black and shiny.

"Zoro," the doctor raised up the black box to Zoro's face, "_this_ is a video tape."

"V-video tape?"

"Yeah, with this you can watch stuff. This, this movie, is the best movie you'll ever see in your life. Do you want to watch it?" Zoro had no clue as to what the words 'movie' and 'watch' meant, but on seeing the bright features on Law's face and how the water in the man's body sparkled like diamonds the merman could not refuse. So, leaving all of the junk in the room as it was, the two went to the living room.

The movie Law was referring to was none other than the "Legend Seeker". Zoro was amazed how human beings were moving about in a large flat screen. Since he was utterly focused on that, they watched it a second round so that the second time, Zoro understood the plot. Law didn't mind since he loved the movie so much. Zoro awed when Law voiced out some quotes from the main character at the right time and place.

"Wow!" Zoro exclaimed when the credits started to roll with the theme song. He clapped his hands together, "Ace is awesome!"

"Isn't he cool?" Law was glad that the merman agreed, "He's the coolest Legend Seeker ever!" He then brought out another video tape, "Do you want to see the next one? This one's about the island in the sky!"

"Yeah!" So they watched the second, the third, the fourth, and finally the fifth-the last of the series. Zoro had finished up the third bag of popcorn when the last movie ended.

"I liked the third one! Can we watch that one again?"

"We could, but I want to show you something first." Curiosity bubbled up in the merman and he smiled in delight. One by one, Law showed Zoro the objects the merman had dropped a few hours ago. An old backpack, torn and covered in dirt; an orange cow boy hat that the main character wore; an album full of "Legend Seeker" trading cards; and a Legend Seeker discovery kit with all of the weapons (toys) and tools the main character used during the movie. Zoro zipped open the backpack and a notebook fell out. The merman leafed through the pages and was greeted with mystery letters.

"What's this?"

"Oh, that was the Adventure Diary. We recorded tons of ridiculous stuff on it. I'll read some to you." Law flipped to one of the pages with a page full of scribbles (to Zoro's eyes). "Hey, this one's Sanji. Oh well.

"...'Today we followed a dinosaur (it was actually a lizard, Zoro) and it took us to the great Jewel Cave (it's an old abandoned coal mine). We collected many of the jewels for evidence. We were about to go back, when we realized that the road to the entrance was blocked and had no way to get out!'" Law lowered the journal, "Yeah, we kind of got lost in the coal mine and we called for help. It took the islanders three hours to find us since that place was literally a maze. Our parents were so pissed!"

Zoro peered down to the opened notebook, "So what are these things?" he pointed to the scribbles.

"Oh, those are _letters_ and humans _write_ those _letters_ down so others could _read_ it." The three words were new to the merman so he didn't have a real idea, but he stared at the words with awe. Law handed the notebook over so that Zoro could scan through. The merman examined every page, noticing that there were some identical formations. When he flipped over to the last page, a feeling struck him. The words on the last page had a mysterious power to it.

"Law, what does this page say?"

The doctor took the notebook from the merman's hands and read it out loud, "'My dream...One, to be the greatest Legend Collector...Two, to marry the most beautiful woman in the world...Three, to find the fairy princess...Four, to dance with the fairy princess'...Hah, this is all Sanji's dreams. " The list when on and on and mostly were pointless, so Law was about to close the notebook when Zoro stopped him.

"W-what does _that_ one say?"

"That one?" Zoro pointed to the middle of the page between two dreams. "What do you mean? I already read that-" Suddenly he let out a gasp and he bolted into the kitchen. Law returned with a spray bottle filled with water. Law remembered the secret ability this notebook had. Based on the second movie of "Legend Seeker", these special notebooks were released. Each paper was three times thicker than normal paper and it came with a special pen. The ink was invisible, but when sprayed with a bit of water, the words appeared.

Just like the greatest movie _ever_ (Law's opinion)!

Law squeezed the bottle and sprayed the water onto the page a few times. Zoro could not hide his surprise when he saw the words form on the page and it seemed to glow in a pale purple color.

"Whoa!" Zoro dropped his jaw, "That's just like the Book of Atlantis!"

Law grinned broadly, "Cool huh?" He lowered his eyes to the sentence. He squinted his eyes since the words were starting to dry up, "...T-To find-" Law's eyes widened slowly and anguish filled his eyes, "-All Blue."

Zoro saw the sudden sadness in Law's face and he laid a comforting hand on his shoulder, "W-what? All Blue?"

Law slowly closed the book and set it aside, "It's a dream Sanji had since the longest time. He wants to find it, but everybody told him that it doesn't exist-just like how everyone told us there was no such thing as rainbow diamonds, the island in the sky, or the Tomb of Chisenlischlebluscan. He doesn't admit it, but he still wishes to see it one day." He noticed that a vibrant color swam through Zoro's eyes, "Zoro?"

"All Blue," Zoro's eyes met Law's, "Doesn't it sound like-" All of a sudden, the merman excused himself and ran outside. Thankfully, night had fallen so no one would see the color on Zoro's hair. Law grabbed the closest hat he could find and chased after him.

"Wait Zoro! Hat!"

-.-.-

Sanji turned the key to lock his restaurant. He raised his head up to see the bright sea of stars glittering at him. He smiled and pulling the coat close to his chest, he headed home when-

"Sanji!" The blond almost tripped when he heard his name, the shout echoed to each and every part of the town buildings and it finally reverberated into the cook's eardrums. Following that he also heard Law's shouts. The cook traced the sound and squinted in that direction, waiting until his eyes focused the darkness. Two figures moved down the dirt road and those two soon came up to him.

"Sanji!" Zoro shouted again, in the same volume, right up to Sanji's face. The cook held his ears to save his dying ears. Law quickly shoved a hat onto Zoro's head and it covered his eyes. The two struggled for a brief moment to straighten the hat before the merman started again. "Sanji!"

"I know I know! What?"

Zoro had his hands on his knees to steady his breathing. Sanji waited patiently; they ran for a full hour but that wasn't startling. All islanders of Koral could run that long. He was more surprised that the merman was able to run that far even though he was still getting used to his legs. "Sanji, don't," when talking in a normal tone, his voice was hoarse, "don't give up your dream."

"Huh?" Sanji laughed, "Did you just run all the way here to tell me that?"

A frown suddenly stretched across Zoro's features and Sanji stopped laughing. "Your dream to find All Blue-"

"Oh that dream." Sanji brought down a frown also, "Forget about that. That one's not going to happen."

Sanji's words were stuck in his throat when Zoro shook him. "No, Sanji. It exists! All Blue exists!"

The cook's mind went white upon hearing the words from a mouth of a creature from the sea. The dream he had thought he had to throw away, the dream he most wanted to accomplish, was true? He tried to speak, but no words formed.

Law said it for him, "What? All Blue? It exists? Really? Oh wow! Whoa! Holy-"-and said all of the possible exclamations the cook had thought of.

Zoro nodded, but his eyes were fixed on the cook's, "Do you remember where I was born?" Sanji's eyes swam as he tried to remember the Observation Journal, but it was hazy. A smile was on the cook's face naturally but he shook his head. Zoro continued, "I was born in Allejà Blêue. That's a language spoken by fishes but in English it's-" Zoro paused in his sentence and watched Sanji's face to see if the cook could finish the rest on his own. Sanji's eye widened and even in the darkness he saw it shine.

A watery film formed in Sanji's eye, "Is it true?" he whispered, "Does All Blue really exists?"

"Yeah, it does!" Zoro beamed, "When I find my earring, I'll show you!"

Sanji didn't know whether he wanted to cry out in joy or jump up and down. He was so happy that his body was shaking. Law suddenly threw his arms over Sanji and Zoro and they all crashed onto the ground. It wasn't really a mood breaker but it also wasn't very comforting. The hat Zoro wore tumbled off his head and the merman scrambled onto his feet to get it.

Sanji saw the familiar orange cow boy hat and laughed, forgetting the painful bump on his head, "Hey! That's Ace's hat! Where'd you get that?"

"We were cleaning up Law's room when I accidentally found it." Zoro answered as he squeezed the hat back onto his head.

"Yeah, and that's where we found your diary with all your dreams and stuff." Law mocked at the word, diary.

"Mine? No wonder I couldn't find it anywhere! W-why did you have mine, Law?"

"I don't know! We bought the same stuff so maybe we bunched it all up. But that hat is mine."

Zoro suddenly cut in, "We were watching 'Legend Seeker'! It was awesome!"

Sanji grinned, "Ace is awesome huh?"

"Yeah! He's really cool!"

Sanji suddenly remembered Law telling him that he was going to refurnish one of the rooms to make it a new surgery room. "Oh yeah you told me about cleaning up a room...so, did you guys finish cleaning it all up?" The mirthful atmosphere froze in midair.

The cook frowned, "...w-what were you guys doing?"

"I told you, we were watching "Legend Seeker"! All five of them!"

"All of them? That's about ten hours!" Sanji let out a dry chuckle, "Are you sure you guys are going to be able to make it by the end of this week?"

Law looped his arm around Zoro and began dragging him up the road, "We are! That's why we are going back to the house right now so we could clear it all up by tomorrow morning!"

"T-tomorrow morning?" Zoro dropped his mouth open, "We're going to stay up? No way!"

"Yes way!" Law held onto the struggling creature while saluting to Sanji, "Good night Sanji! See you tomorrow!" To be frank, Sanji didn't want to meet Law if he was going to stay up all night, but the cook saluted and waved them goodbye. As their voices faded away, the cook raised his head up again to the stars, but this time his heart swelled with hope. Ambition to find Zoro's earring grew strong because there was going to be a reward if he did find it. He had a large smile that shone brighter than the stars above as he walked home, knowing that he would not be able to sleep tonight.


End file.
